Follow five steps to design and lobby for your Green Office

Dozens of students and staff have succeeded in establishing one. It is not eays and requires patience and dedication. But, also you can do it!

(1) Form an initiative

Convene a team of 5-10 students, staff and faculty. They form the core team that leads the design and lobby effort.

Form the group, by organising a study trip to another Green Office near you. An information evening is also a great start. Attending the annual European GO Summit is also an inspiring option to form your team.

We also run weekend seminars and give workshops on sustainability in higher education. Get in touch with us to learn when the next event takes place. You could then attend with some people from your institution who are interested in starting an initiaitve.

Find out, what opportunities exist for funding, e.g. innovation funds, funds to improve the quality of education, student engagement funds, etc. For this, it helps if you talk to a staff member, professors or student representative who knows your institution very well.

Commissions, the Executive Board or the university council might be bodies that could decide about your funding proposal.

You can engage us to give a short presentation about the model or run a workshop (see more below).

(3) Write the proposal

You have found a body that you could submit your funding application to. Find out if there are any deadlines to submit your proposal. Identify if there are specific points you need to address in the proposal itself.

Email us, so that we can send you some examples of great funding proposals. We also provide feedback on your funding proposal, if you send it to us.

(4) Engage people and build alliances

Depending on how much the decision makers – who will decide about your funding proposal – support the idea, you will need to adapt your lobbying strategies.

If they are not likely to support the idea, then you need to build broad, public support among students, staff and faculty: Organise a panel discussion, sustainability day, information evening, workshop. Develop a video, flyer or facebook page to share your ideas. Collect signatures that you attach to your proposal.

If they are likely to support your idea, then you will have less work: Meet the people that will decide about your funding proposal. Discuss with them the ideas that you have and what they think needs to change to make the proposal successful.

In any case, it helps if you find a champion, i.e. a highly influential person who knows the instiution well and is respected, to guide, mentor and support you. This could be a professor, dean, the sustainability manager, a director of a research institute.

We can support you as speakers and workshop facilitators during any bigger events that you organise (see below).

(5) Submit the proposal and wait for the decision

After some rounds of feedback and having talked to people, it is time to finalize the proposal. Before submission, send it again to us so that we can give a final round of feedback.

Submit the proposal, celebrate that you submitted it and wait for the decision.

If it gets rejected, you can ask for feedback on how to approve it and then resubmit or try another funding body.

If the proposal gets approved, you are good to go. Congratulations! Welcome to the movement.

Presentation of initiative in Berlin

Brainstorming about GO design

Working session in Lund

How we can support you:

PAID FOR

1 hour lunch time talk or presentation on the Green Office Model and Q&A

4-8 hours workshop to support 15-20 students and staff to develop a first design and lobby approach

Series of 2-3 workshops and advice hours to guide your team step-by-step through the process

10-15 hours of advice to develop the proposal, budget and lobby strategy with you